When We Were Young
by GhostTownAngel
Summary: Basically, what Lovina and Feliciana's lives were like before they were reunited with each other and their brothers, and all the decisions in between that led to the way they act now. It's got fluff and romance, cute moments and a few that just might make you cry. Who knows, you'd have to read to find out. Most of the chapters are based on songs, so sorry if you don't like those


A/N: Hi people! This is my first fanfic ever, so expect it to suck. This is mostly about Lovina/Fem!Romano, (She has about five different names, so I just picked Lovina. *shrug*) and all the stupid stuff she did before she was reunited with her sister. Not everyone in this is genderbent, just an FYI! Enjoy! (Or not. Probably not. ^^')

The door was closed behind her, creating a loud and sharp click of finality. She'd be stuck here forever.  
"So, I think I should get to know you first, si?"  
Lovina pulled her eyes from the door and looked at the woman before her, nodding once sharply. "I guess so."  
"Well." she crouched and smiled sweetly at the child. "My name is Isabel." She searched the younger nation's eyes curiously. "I'm from around here, Spain I mean. Where are you from?"  
"Not here." Lovina snapped, her cheeks puffing up. She wanted this Isabel woman to know and understand a hundred percent, she didn't belong here.  
"I know that, silly." The nation laughed, warm and light.  
_What? Doesn't she get it?_ Lovina looked at her shoes, already scratched a bit from when she had kicked the Austrian man.  
"Are you hungry, Lovina?"  
"No."  
"Are you sure?"  
She looked up at her, daring her to say more with that stupid, innocent, happy voice of hers.  
Before Lovina could snap at her again, her stomach growled viciously, and she held onto the front of her dress. "No."  
"You sound hungry, let's make dinner!" She stood easily and walked away, her heels light on the sun-faded wooden floor.  
Lovina took this chance to look around, for any possible window or door left unlocked. Her house was very...Latin.  
The whole place smelled of spices, the furniture was red and black, but light enough to look painfully comfortable.  
She hurried across the floor and looked around more in the living room, drawn to the tall bookcase. Lovina had always loved to read, but she didn't know what language these books were saw one that caught her eye, it had a big, fat goose on the cover, her wings outstretched and covering two children like blankets.  
"Can you read?" The woman asked, leaning on the door-frame and wiping her hands on a rag. "I have lots of books here, you know. And I've ordered some in Italian so you can read too."  
"Really?" Damn. She sounded too excited, and Isabel could tell, her eyes sparkled and she headed back into the kitchen.  
"Si! of course!" Now was her chance. She looked around again, the windows were too high to climb out of, though the view they held was beautiful, the door was locked, and Isabel would notice if she tried to open it. She looked to her left and noticed a few more doors.  
"You can look around, just don't get lost." Isabel called out, and the sound of running water disrupted the previous silence.  
"Okay!" Lovina took off down the hallway, looking at all the pictures. There were fields with strange apples on them. Didn't apples grow on trees? Others held images of flowers, big buildings, or children she didn't know. She looked at one of the doors, which was open just a bit. She pushed on the door, glad it didn't squeak, and wandered inside.  
The bed was tall and wide, with light blue blankets and a lot of pillows, the walls were blue as well, darker as it melted into the ceiling, where stars and a crescent moon were drawn perfectly, framed with thin, wispy clouds.  
"Wow..." She spun around a bit, changing her perspective of the stars and clouds, smiling upwards.  
"Whose room is this?" she wondered aloud, pushing the curtains to the side and letting the sunlight in. There they were, the fields with the strange apples. What were those? She tried pulling the curtains back, but bumped into a desk, small and nestled into the corner.  
"Ouch!" She rubbed at her hip and puffed up her cheeks, kicking the desk's leg and shouting again. "Dammit!" She sat down and felt her eyes tear up. That really hurt! She glared at the desk and all it's contents, pencils of every color and pure white paper. There was a small stool tucked underneath it, and a white bear lying across the top.  
Was this a child's room? She picked up the bear and turned it over, a key stuck out, shiny gold and begging to be turned. She spun it around in her tiny fingers until it clicked, and a familiar tune began to play.  
I know this song! She hummed along with it at first, then began to sing. "Stella stellina, la notte si avvicina la fiamma traballa, la mucca e nella stalla-*"  
"Do you like your room?" Lovina looked behind her, where Isabel was standing, smiling as usual, with a book in her hand.  
"This is my room?"  
"Si." Isabel nodded happily and looked around. "I painted it myself, I hope you like it."  
"I do! I really like it." The Italian smiled up at her, hugging the bear to her chest. "and this bear too, where did you get it?"  
"Oh, that?" she sighed and sat down on Lovina's bed, running her fingers through her long hair. "I went to Italy once, well- I sailed to Italy, past Italy really." She droned off.  
"Sailed?"  
"Mhm. In a boat?" She made a strange motion with her hands, like water moving in waves.  
"Why do you sail in boats?" "It's my job!" she smiled. "It's hard, but someone has to do it." Lovina started to change her image of the Spanish woman, and actually look at her. She was obviously bigger than her, but not in an intimidating way, her arms were long and skinny, with just enough muscle to give a tight hug. Her legs were long too, but her dress concealed them.  
She looked almost motherly.  
"What are these?" Lovina asked, standing and pointing out the window. "I've never heard of apples growing on bushes."  
"Those are tomatoes." she said simply, raising a brow at the child. "You've never had a tomato before?"  
"To-ma-to." Lovina tried the word, but it still sounded funny. "We can go pick some tomorrow, it's about time we ate and had a siesta!"  
"A what?"  
"Siesta, it means nap in Spanish." she smiled. Lovina just raised a brow and followed her out, tossing the bear onto the couch on her way.  
"I made pasta," she noted, pulling out a chair and helping the small girl up. "Maybe you wouldn't feel so homesick, si?"  
"Grazie." Lovina gasped, almost drooling at the sight before her. A giant bowl of pasta with meatballs, the sauce looked thick and stuck to the pasta wonderfully, there was bread and butter and asparagus too! "Looks good right?" Isabel grinned, helping Lovina with her plate first. "There's cheese too if you need it."  
"Hey, what's this red stuff?" Lovina poked a finger into the sauce and eyed it curiously.  
"Oh, that's right! You've never had tomatoes!"  
"This is a tomato?" "It's made from tomatoes, si." she smiled again and twirled her fork in the noodles, eating a bite and laughing at Lovina's facial expression as she tried to eat her own. "Need help, Roma?" She looked up and puffed her cheeks.  
"No! And what'd you call me?"  
"Roma. Like Romano! Cute, no?" She'd never admit it, but she liked the nickname, she tried to twirl her fork like Isabel had, but it all slid off when she lifted it. Her stomach growled in protest, and she decided just to use her fingers.  
Isabel didn't respond to her messy eating, though it bugged her just a little. She cleaned her up and stripped her of her dresses, tossing them into a basket and carrying the nearly naked nation into the bathroom.  
"Hey! Put me down!" She yelled, Isabel smiled at her messy henchman, cheeks red and eyes glowing with independence "Si, si, Roma~" she set the girl down and started a bath. The girl stood on her tiptoes, peering into the tub with wide eyes, her hair a wild mess, though somehow, a single flyaway stood out from the side of her head, curled into an unnatural spiral. She tipped the bottle's opening towards the water and let the violet liquid escape into the tub, it bubbled immediately and she put her hands on her knees, sighing and looking at the child.  
"Ready?"  
"For what?" Her hands clasped onto the side of the tub, and she peered upwards with her big, brown eyes. "Your bath!" she laughed. "You're covered in food, Roma." With that, Lovina held up her arms and let Isabel lift her into the warm water. She liked the bubbles quite a bit, making a mustache out of them and spitting wildly when they seeped near her mouth. There were a few splashes and complications regarding the girl's hair, tangled with pasta.  
"How did you get sauce in your eyebrows?" Isabel laughed. "Dio mio you're practically a tomato now!" she laughed loudly and wiped the red from her face.  
"Can we have more tomatoes tomorrow?" she asked, and of course Isabel said yes. She was dried and dressed, tossed into her bed and tucked in. "Should I read you a story?" Lovina blinked, looking especially tiny surrounded by all the pillows.  
"A story?"  
"Si! Didn't Mister Austria tell you stories?" This got her on her soap-box, and for the next hour and a half, Lovina went on about how strict he was, how mean and cruel he acted when she made mistakes. "I didn't mean to knock it over, honest! I was just cleaning and I bumped into it and he yelled at me!"  
Isabel stopped her when she noticed the brown in her eyes getting shiny and watery. "Oh, Roma! No crying, it's okay!"  
"I'm scared for mia sorella." she whimpered. "She's stuck there with that meanie, what if something happens and I'm not there to help her?"  
"Nothing will happen, I promise." She stroked her hair, carefully avoiding the curl. She learned the hard way not to touch it.  
"Just go to sleep now, when you wake up we'll have breakfast and we'll read books, si?" Lovina nodded slowly.  
"Okay."  
"Buenas noches, mi tomate*." she cooed, kissing the child's forehead before leaving and shutting the door behind her.  
"Buonanotte sorella*." she sighed to herself, looking out the window at the stars, maybe they were looking at them together. _

The song Lovina was singing is called Stella Stellina, it's a common Italian lullaby sung to small children. Here's the video if you want to hear it! watch?v=8RhsPRikebQ Tomatoes weren't introduced to Italy until the Spanish had already brought them to it's colonies, Italy was kinda' the last one to get them, and even then, they went to southern Italy first, since they had more farming land and better climate. "Buenas noches, mi tomate" means "Goodnight my tomato" "Mia sorella" means "My sister" "Buonanotte sorealla" means "goodnight sister" Hope you liked it!


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